NSIC volleyball tourney begins

Northern State on road during first round tonight

Northern State on road during first round tonight

November 06, 2007

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Volleyball Tournament will start tonight. The semifinals and the championship matches will be played at the highest remaining seed on Friday and Saturday. No. 1 seed Concordia-St. Paul (29-3, 17-1) will host No. 8 Bemidji State (10-16, 6-12). No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State (24-6, 15-3) will host No. 7 Mary (12-13, 7-11). No. 3 Wayne State (21-11, 13-5) will host No. 6 Northern State (13-15, 8-10) and No. 4 Minnesota State-Moorhead (17-9, 11-7) will host No. 5 Winona State (19-13, 10-8). All matches will start at 7 p.m. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the national tourney in the form of the NCAA Division II North Central Regional Tournament. The league has also named its all-conference team. Special awards went to Southwest's Erin Contons (NSIC player of the year), Concordia-St. Paul's Mary Slinger (NSIC libero of the year), Concordia-St. Paul's Emily Palkert (NSIC freshman of the year) and Southwest's Terry Culhane (NSIC coach of the year). Named to the all-conference honorable mention team were seniors Emily Knaeble (Andover, Minn.) of Northern State and Theresa Crance (Timber Lake) of Minnesota-Crookston. - Sports writer Ryan Deal NSU quarterback honored Northern State sophomore quarterback Eric Ellingson has been named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference offensive football player of the week. The native of Riverside, Calif., had a hand in all eight NSU touchdowns in Saturday's 55-35 win over Upper Iowa. Ellingson ran for two touchdowns and threw for six. The six touchdown passes tied a school record - Jason Landmark threw for six touchdowns against Black Hills State in 1989. There were 11 touchdown passes Saturday as Upper Iowa quarterback Jay Lehman threw five. Ellingson completed 25-of-33 passes for 286 yards on the day. Eric's dad, Craig Ellingson, grew up in Conde. NSU (5-5, 5-3) will play Mary at noon Saturday in the NSIC Metrodome Classic in Minneapolis. Other games that day are Wayne vs. Winona at 3:30 p.m. and Southwest vs. Moorhead at 7 p.m. On Friday in Minneapolis, Crookston will play Concordia-St. Paul at 4 p.m. and Upper Iowa will play Bemidji at 7:30 p.m. - Sports editor John Papendick NSU soccer honorees Northern State soccer players Kira Wannebo and Maggie Madrid were named to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference All-Tournament Soccer Team. Mary won the tourney for the second year in a row. The Final Four was in Aberdeen last weekend. Named to the team from Mary were Megan Wilson (named most valuable player), Shanda Lester, Joanna Drennen, and Jessica Janusz. Also on the team were Moorhead's Alison Wanner, Jena Reed and Richelle Ross and Southwest's Kayla Borstad and Ellen Diekemper. Junior goalie Catherine Grace was also named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District women's soccer second team. - Sports editor John Papendick Tevan Wenbourne Tevan Wenbourne is starting for the fourth year in a row for the Mount Marty women's basketball team. She is one of six seniors returning for coach Chuck Iverson's team that went 22-10 last year and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA national tournament. The Lancers are 1-1 this season. Wenbourne is the two-time Great Plains Athletic Conference defensive player of the year. Last season, she averaged 10 points, four assists and 2.8 steals per game and earned all-conference honors as well as being named as a second team All-American. Her Lancers finished in a four-way tie for the conference title last season. Mount Marty hosts Jamestown on Friday and Valley City State on Saturday to mark its annual Blue and Gold Days homecoming weekend. Start times are 5:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday. - Sports editor John Papendick Waage to nationals Black Hills State senior Trent Waage (Aberdeen Central) will run in the NAIA men's cross country national championships at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 17 at Kenosha, Wis. Waage and his teammates won the NAIA Region III Meet on Saturday at Prairie Green Golf Course in Sioux Falls. Allen Wood of Black Hills won the men's 8,000-meter race in 25:09.02 while teammate Waage was second in 25:20.48 and Chris Heezen (Miller) of Dakota State was third in 25:20.78. All three are national qualifiers. There were 157 men running in the event. - Sports editor John Papendick Quickly

Heidi Meier (junior from Marshall, Minn.) of Presentation College was named to the first team All-Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Team. Teammate Erin Hofland (freshman from Aberdeen) was an honorable mention selection.

Former Doland-Conde standout Jon Madsen won the heavyweight championship at the 15th Annual Warren Williamson Daktronics Open in Brookings on Saturday. Madsen, who was wrestling unattached, defeated Jason Stripling 7-5 in overtime. Madsen was a three-time All-American for the Jackrabbits.

South Dakota State shot better than 50 percent in each half, and senior Courtney Grimsrud (Sisseton) posted a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Jackrabbit women's basketball team closed out the exhibition season with a 79-44 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday night at Frost Arena in Brookings. SDSU opens regular season play at 8 p.m. Friday at home against Arkansas State.

Northland College won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference post-season volleyball tournament. The Lumberjills came in as the No. 4 seed in the tournament.

Minnesota-Morris won the UMAC postseason men's soccer tournament by defeating St. Scholastica 2-1. In the women's tournament St. Scholastica won the tournament by defeating Morris 2-1 in a shootout.

Former four-time high school state champion Dan Bonte, 21, of Garretson has been forced to end his college wrestling career at SDSU due to injuries. Bonte won his fourth high school state title in Aberdeen, at the time also setting the national record for career wins at 268. College Plus is a weekly feature on Tuesdays in the American News during the college sports season. If you have news tips or suggestions, please send an e-mail to jpapendick@aberdeennews.com or call (605) 622-2323.